Equilar Report: HR Executive Pay Declines, Women Continue to Lead the Role

Barchart · 10/16 11:00

Compensation for top HR leaders saw a slight decrease in 2024, according to Equilar’s HR Executive Pay Trends report, featuring commentary from the HR Policy Association. HR executives at Equilar 500 companies—the 500 largest U.S. public companies by revenue—earned $2.3 million at the median in 2024, marking a decline of less than 1% from the previous year.

The decline in HR executive compensation was minimal and likely influenced by various market factors. However, the importance of HR executives, including chief human resources officers (CHROs), has never been greater. “Given the multifaceted challenges that businesses face today, having a strong CHRO is essential,” said Ani Huang, President and CEO of the HR Policy Association’s Center On Executive Compensation. “A capable HR leader ensures that the organization’s most valuable resource—its people—are aligned with and empowered to execute the company’s vision.”

The report also reveals that women occupy 68.7% of HR executive positions at Equilar 500 companies, up from 59.3% in 2020. This growth aligns with the historical trend of women dominating the HR function. Meanwhile, men have also experienced an increase in HR executive roles following a sharp decline in 2021, with the prevalence of male HR executives rising by 52.9% between 2022 and 2024.

In terms of compensation, median pay packages for male and female HR executives were nearly identical in 2024, though men earned slightly more, with a median of $2.7 million compared to $2.6 million for women. This gap is particularly notable given the reversal of earlier trends; in 2020 and 2021, female HR executives earned significantly more than their male counterparts, with pay gaps of 52.3% and 84.4% in their favor during those years. Over the study period, women saw a modest 2.2% increase in compensation, while men experienced a much larger increase of 61.2%.

Download the full report for additional findings and insights.

About Equilar

Equilar is the leading provider of executive intelligence solutions. The company's expertise in relationship intelligence drives state-of-the-art business development and CRM applications, board and executive recruitment, and compensation and governance strategies. Equilar integrates its extensive database of executive profiles with natural language processing and machine learning AI to enable real-time relationship analytics and targeted outreach for its global clients. Equilar's commitment to excellence has made it the go-to solution for over 1,000 companies, including 75% of the Fortune 500, top PE/VC firms and leading professional services entities. Learn more at www.equilar.com.

About HR Policy Association

HR Policy Association empowers members to grow and excel in their roles, providing CHROs and their teams with a lifeline of information and targeted support. The Association offers expert public policy advocacy and analyses, information on HR best practices, and networking opportunities exclusively for our unique community of CHROs and HR executives. Collectively, the Association's nearly 400 members employ more than 20 million employees worldwide and have a market capitalization of more than $7.5 trillion.

www.hrpolicy.org